The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-08-10
STRUCK BY A TRAIN
Ten Laborers Instantly Killed and
Four Fatally Injured.

Four Fatally Injured.
A fast express train, behind time and sour
rying along even faster than usual to make
it up, whirled around a sudden curve near
Hohokus, N. j., the other morning and
plowed into knot of Italian laborers standing
upon the track. Ten were killed outright,
two died in an hour, two Others were not e1-
pected to live, and several others were in
jured.
For year past the company has had from
1,500 to 1900 Italians at work along the road,
putting broken rock under the ties. The work
has been completed as far as Hohokus and be-
yond, but small stretch remained to be COM
pleted at and near cut half mile beyond
the station. The men, numbering in all forty
| five had been brought from their lodging place
at the gravel pit near Paterson by q construc-
tion train, and had been put to work at about
seven o'clock. They were all at work on and
about the westerly or down track used by
trains bound to jersey City except six who
! we're at work in the cut Martin Connolly was
their foreman, and Connolly was assisted by
James Morrissey and John Ftzsimmons.
Neither could talk Italian, orders being given
by motions and examples. Connolly says
that he thought the place dangerous, and so
put Fitzsimmons on the bank in the cut to
give warning when the trains approached
from that way.
At 7:24 o'clock A. NJ, a milk train OF four
teen milk cars three freight cars. and two
passenger coaches, under charge of Conductor
Charles Wood, came along over the EN-,
bankment on the easterly track, and
bound north 1t was closely followed
by a construction train, under the
charge of Foreman II. Bamper and
Conductor Samuel Fullerton. AS the milk
train came up to the gang a number OF citi-
zens living thereabouts stopped on a big
wooden bridge that runs over the tracks at
the cut for the purpose of watching the
train. They noticed that no attention
was paid to the train by the men OF
the foreman in charge There were about
thirty men huddled together in one
spot, shovelling the broken stone on to the
track and tamping it under the ties. Then,
as the milk train was passing, the whistle on
late and running at lightning speed, was
heard as she approached the cut from
the north The spectators on the bridge
could hear the whistle, but it was plain
that no one in the gang OF workmen
heard it, for they kept right on with
their work. The express thundered into the
cut and around the curve past the milk train,
and had got well on its way down the grade
toward the men, and then the engineer
seemed to see them. At the same moment
some of the Italians seemed to see their
danger Three were seen to fling themselves
from the tracks, some threw up their arms
imploringly and stood still. while some fell
on their knees. The train ploughed into the
/ writhing group.
In an instant the air around the engine
seemed filed with the bodies of the men who
had been at work. One man was thrown
against the last car of the milk train, and,
bounding back, fell under the wheels of the ex.
press and was ground to pieces. Another rose
thirty feet in the air, and fell back alighting
on top of the first car of the express, whence
the body rolled off to the roadbed. A third
body was thrown forty fest out to one side
and over stone wall at the foot Of the west
side of the embankment, where 1t landed
on the grass in meadow belonging
to Mr.. Rosencranz The greater num-
Der were thrown forward and to one
side, where they moved down the weeds
that grew down the embankment, and
covered the broken rock with blood. Even
those who were not on the track were struck
by the flying bodies of their comrades and
hurled down the bank. Of the whole num-
Der at work not one remained standing.
The tracks were vet, and the express tram
swept around the curve to the west and into
Hohokus before her headway could be
checked. When she had gone, tbs men
who remained not seriously hurt got
up, with screams and walls, and
climbed up the bank. The groans of
the wounded were added to the cries of the
others, and Mr.. Jacob Bamper, whose con-
struction train reached the scene a minute
later, says that many of those fatally wound
ed, including those with their heads crushed,
tried vainly to arise, and struggling to get
away from the track, died miserably.
The dead and injured were conveyed to
Paterson, the latter being taken to hospital.
The unfortunate men were all Italians hired
in New York.